Last call for Canton's Pizza Hut is emotional for employees

These long-time Pizza Hut Ford Road employees, each with a minimum of 20 years at the Hut, will soon say goodbye to the sit-down restaurant's Ford Road location. From left are Sharon Cheston, Angie Maggioncalda, and Thomas Southard. The cards near the pizza are from customers who are wishing the employees well as their home base closes. (Photo: John Heider | hometownlife.com)

During the early days of Canton Township's one and only Pizza Hut, members of the Hauk family would ride their horses along the then-three-lane Ford Road, tie their four-legged transportation to an elevated horizontal pole located just outside the restaurant, eat their meal, then gallop away.

"Canton was pretty much all woods back then, very rural," Maggioncalda remembered. "There was us, the Big Boy and Meijer, but that was about it. Ford Road traffic wasn't as bad as it is today, that's for sure.

"We still have the pole they tied the horses to. Actually, I'm not sure if it was placed where it was to secure the horses or to block people from parking in that area, but nobody really cared either way."

Memories like this are flooding Maggioncalda's mind these days as the 40-year-old restaurant is set to close its doors for good on Monday, March 18.

Pizza Hut will still have a Canton presence as a takeout/delivery-only site is set to open soon right down the street, at the intersection of Ford and Sheldon roads.

But the countdown has begun — and it hit "1" on Monday — for the retro eat-in building with the landmark red roof.

Any time a brick-and-mortar structure's days are numbered — a home, a church or a restaurant — people who have grown to love the memories stirred up in the space tend to mourn.

"I'm sad this place is closing," revealed Maggioncalda. "I was 17 years old when I first started working here in 1983. The staff was like a family back then. A lot of us learned life lessons in this building.

Mindy and Kevin Savoni got married after meeting at Pizza Hut.(Photo: submitted)

"Employees would graduate from high school, head off to college, but they'd all come back and either work on their breaks or just stop by to visit. One couple who worked here ended up getting married. They live in North Carolina now with their two kids, but when they come back to Canton, they stop by and say hi."

In 1983, Sharon Cheston began a 31-year run as a waitress at the Pizza Hut located at Plymouth and Inkster roads in Redford Township before transferring to the Canton location almost four years ago.

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This Pizza Hut at 44995 Ford Road in Canton will close on March 18 after serving decades of pizzas to Canton-ites. A smaller Pizza Hut station will soon open at Ford and Sheldon Roads. (Photo: John Heider | hometownlife.com)

The 70-year-old soon-to-be-retired resident of Detroit teared up briefly as she reflected on her career with "The Hut."

"I've worked here half my life," she said. "I've been setting up a salad bar like that (she points to the one in the middle of the Ford Road location's dining area) for 35 years. I am going to miss the customers the most.

"There is a group of medical students who attend a school across the street. They've been coming in here regularly for the past year or so. When they found out Monday would be my last day, they came in, brought me cards and they each said a speech. It was very touching.

"I can't even imagine how emotional it's going to be on the last day."

Gathering place

Pizza Hut has been the point of convergence for groups and families of all ages.

Maggioncalda said that throughout the 1980s, people would flock to the restaurant after Friday night high school football games.

She said half-days for elementary school students were also bustling as the kids would trade their hard-earned "Book It" points — rewards for reading a certain number of books — for personal pan pizzas.

"That's still a popular program," Maggioncalda said. "The Friday night football crowds aren't as big any more. Teenagers don't seem to go out to eat in groups as much as they used to, which is probably one of the reasons our dine-in restaurant is closing."

Pizza Hut has embedded itself into the Canton community, taking pride in its charitable fund-raising efforts, sponsoring slow-pitch softball teams and just simply offering a pleasant, reasonably-priced option where a visitor's hunger and thirst could be quenched with a deep-dish pizza and a beer.

The 16-member staff — all but two of which will be transitioning to the new location — initially heard about the future changes in October.

Cheston's eyes moisten when she talks about the generosity her familiar clientele have cascaded upon her.

"I've received flowers, a couple of retirement cards with $100 bills in them ... there are so many great people in the world," she said. "I wore one of those step counters one night and I found out I walked anywhere from four to seven miles each night I work. Once I'm retired, I'm determined to continue to exercise."

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This new Pizza Hut station, with limited seating, will soon open at the southwest corner of Ford and Sheldon Roads. (Photo: John Heider | hometownlife.com)

When asked what has changed the most in the pizza industry since she first started working at "The Hut" during Ronald Reagan's first term as President, Cheston delivered a worrisome answer.

"With our all-you-can-eat lunch buffet, people waste a lot of food," she said. "Honestly, I think we have to scrape off more food from people's plates than the amount of food they actually ate.

"I was always taught to only take as much as you can eat, but that doesn't seem to be the case any more."

“I'm sure everyone's emotions will be running high as the final hours wind down.”

Angie Maggioncalda

Pizza Hut's last day will commence at 11 a.m. Closing time was up in the air as of Friday.

"It's going to be crazy in here," Maggioncalda said with a sigh and a smile. "I'm sure a lot of regulars will be coming in for their last meal."